Utah State needed a big wiAFn against Air Force to put themselves into good position in the mountain division. The Aggies got just what they needed in a wild 49-45 game and were down 24-13 at the half. This puts the Aggies into excellent position going into another massive must win game against Boise State.

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

TD AFA Micah Davis 5 yard run; AFA: 7; USU: 0

FG AFA Matthew Dapore 15 yard field goal; AFA: 10; USU: 0

TD USU Calvin Tyler Jr. 1 yard run; AFA 10; USU: 7

Second Quarter

TD USU Logan Bonner 6 yard pass to Brandon Bowling (PAT Blocked); USU: 13; AFA: 10

TD AFA Haaziq Daniels 56 yard pass to Micah Davis; AFA: 17; USU: 13

TD AFA Dane Kinamon 3 yard run; AFA: 24; USU: 13

Third Quarter

TD USU Logan Bonner 24 yard pass to Justin McGriff; AFA: 24; USU: 20

TD AFA Emmanuel Michel 51 yard run; AFA: 31; USU: 20

TD USU Andrew Peasley 5 yard pass to Carson Terrell; AFA: 31; USU: 27

TD USU Andrew Peasley 37 yard pass to Brandon Bowling; USU: 34; AFA: 31

TD AFA Emmanuel Michel 55 yard run; AFA: 38; USU: 34

Fourth Quarter

TD AFA Haaziq Daniels 39 yard run; AFA: 45; USU: 34

TD USU: Andrew Peasley 72 yard pass to Deven Thompkins and two point conversion; AFA: 45; USU: 42

TD USU Calvin Tyler Jr. 61 yard run; USU: 49; AFA: 42

Statistics Comparison

Total yards: USU: 628 yards; AFA: 619 yards

Passing yards: USU: 448; AFA: 182

Rushing yards: AFA: 447; USU: 180

Penalties: AFA: 5-37; USU: 7-45

Turnovers: USU: 1; AFA: 2

First downs: USU: 26; AFA: 23

Time of Possession: AFA: 33:59; USU: 26:01

Utah State Players of the Game

Offensive Player of the Game

Andrew Peasley came into the game and made an absolute difference, throwing touchdowns of 5 yards, 37 yards, and 72 yards. He was got the Utah State offense really moving and helped them to reach the eventual very important win.

Defensive Player of the Game

One of the keys to the game was going to be the ability to make tackles, and Justin Rice delivered for Utah State. Rice made 14 tackles (9 solo, 5 assist) and was a very important difference maker in helping the Aggies make some stops and get the ball back.

Analysis

This was a much needed win for Utah State and it proves that the Aggies are legit contenders for the Mountain West this season. Going into Colorado Springs and pulling out a win is never easy but Utah State was able to survive going into a massive game next week.

The Boise State game has much more meaning to it now that the Aggies are undefeated. Boise State sits at 1-2 now but considering that their two losses came to UCF and Oklahoma State by a combined 6 points, well that just means Boise State has been a little unlucky. After a frustrating loss, Boise State is going to come ready to play in their first conference game of the year which means Utah State needs to be absolutely ready in all phases of the game.

At the beginning of the season, not too many people would have expected Utah State to be 3-0 at this point but Utah State has stood tall and should be competitive in a game that could decide the mountain division, even if it’s only September.